


Swept Up

by voltronpaella



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Blood and Gore, Drowning, Gen, Hunk & Lance (Voltron) Friendship, Hurt Lance (Voltron), Lance (Voltron) Angst, Lance (Voltron) is a Mess, Lance (Voltron)-centric, Langst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-03
Updated: 2018-07-03
Packaged: 2019-06-01 15:25:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 983
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15146081
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/voltronpaella/pseuds/voltronpaella
Summary: An off day for the team becomes life or death for Lance.Sometimes he wonders why life hates him.





	Swept Up

Recently the group had landed on a safe water planet, much to Lance’s delight, and today was their one day off. They spent most of the day and afternoon on the beach, skin burning and sand sticking to them.

“Paladins! We should be heading back soon, the water will not be so kind to us if we linger.” Allura calls, already starting to pack up her things. Lance gave her a pout as he watched his friends move toward the shore.

“Hang on Princess!” He replies, moving out further toward a long coral and rock shelf a couple hundred meters from shore. “I wanna check this out real quick!”

“Be fast, Lance.” Shiro reminds as he follows Hunk and Keith out of the fresh water.

“I will, I promise! I'll only be a few minutes!"

It took him just a few strokes to reach the rocks and clamber onto them, feeling the water rushing around his feet. It was calming, and reminded him of one of the shallow lagoons at home. 

He took a deep breath and shut his eyes, reminiscing on the nostalgia. he could remember the beaches at home, teaching his siblings how to swim and surf, or how to find the best waves.

He didn’t feel it when the water receded around him.

While Lance stood, breathing in the scent of cool water, a heavy wave slammed into his body.

He let out a yell as he went under, choppy, rolling water surrounding him. He struggled, clawed at the blue around him, body slamming against the rocks. He did what he could until the water calmed enough to let him drag himself back onto the platform.

He felt like a cat who had been dunked into a tub and finally got out, feeling bruises already starting to form on his skin. This sucked.

His relief didn’t last long, water knocking him aside again. His head cracked against a rock and turned the water around him pink. He felt darkness clouding his vision as he began to sink, and then there was nothing.

“Lance, come on– Lance?” Shiro looked to the horizon, the blue paladin nowhere in sight. “Lance?! Come on, there’s no time for games! Lance!”

Hunk shook his head, grabbing Shiro’s shoulder as he looked out with him. “Something isn’t right. Lance isn't the kind of person to joke about that.."

"Princess, the water seems odd. What's going on?" Pidge questions after a moment, pointing toward the waves. The once clear blue water had become dark and choppy, too rough for anyone to swim in.

"Oh, quiznak! Lance! Lance, I'm coming!" Hunk calls, diving into the water despite the risk.

“Wh- Hunk, what’s happening?!” Shiro calls as he chases after him, diving into the water and swimming out behind him. 

When they got to the wall, Hunk let out a soft cry at the sight of blood tinting the water. He searched around but Lance was nowhere to be found.

That could only mean one thing. His best friend had gone under the surface. His best friend was- is- drowning. Hunk dove down.

There he saw Lance unconscious on the sea floor, bubbles slipping out from between his lips. He fought back a sob while he lifted him up and brought him to the surface.

“Help me get him to shore.” He pants, dragging him back to their friends, a trail of pink behind the trio. Heaving him up onto the sand as gently as possible, Hunk looked at the group with annoyance. “Well?! Someone go get Coran! Hurry!” He calls, laying Lance on his back and starting to do chest compressions.

“Shiro, give him mouth to mouth for me, okay? But be gentle, I don’t know if he’s broken his neck or anything.” He orders the black paladin with a seriousness no one had seen from him before.

Moments later Pidge returned with Coran, a stabilizing board in his hands which he laid out next to Lance.

It was minutes before Lance finally coughed out the water he had swallowed, gasping for air. No one spoke about the pink tinge to the water he spat out.

“Hu-Huh?” His voice came out as a whisper as he looked up at his friends, eyesight blurry.

“I’m here buddy, I’m here. Try not to move too much, okay? Your neck might be... Coran is here to check you out.” Hunk explains to him, holding his hand as Coran moves in. “He’s all yours.”

While Coran checked the younger man for injuries, Hunk stroked his bloody, sand-matted hair, shushing him each time he whimpered or tried to move. 

After a few minutes of examining Lance, Coran finally spoke. “His neck his fractured. Not completely broken , but some of his ribs are also bruised, and he's pretty torn up.. Lance, can you help me roll you onto your side? I need to look at your head.”

Lance didn't seem very coherent but they managed to tilt his head enough to look at the wound.

At the sight, Hunk finally spoke, eyes wide. “Coran, I don’t think the bleeding has stopped.” He murmurs as Lance moves against the sand, red seeping where his head had been laying. The wound was dirty with grains of red sand, hair clumped together. 

It wasn’t pretty. Hunk had to hold back a few dry heaves at the sight, heart clenching for his friend.

“We have to get him back to the castle, I don’t know how much blood he’s lost. And he was without oxygen for so long... Hold on for me, Lance.” Coran tells him as he loads him up onto the board.

Running him back to the castle and prepping him for the healing pod, guilt ate at the group. Even as they set him into the machine, they all felt it. they all knew it.

They never should have taken their eyes off of him.


End file.
